Probe fines Japanese auto parts firm US$17.7 mil. on price-fixing

DETROIT -- Another Japanese auto parts supplier pled guilty Tuesday in a far reaching U.S. probe into price fixing in the auto industry, which has now snared nine different companies on three continents.

Nagoya, Japan-based Tokai Rika Co. agreed to plead guilty and to pay a US$17.7 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices of heater control panels, the Department of Justice said in a statement.

Tokai Rika also agreed to plead guilty to obstruction of justice related to the investigation.